Review: The Confessions of Lady Nijō

The Confessions of Lady Nijō by Lady Nijō
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is probably better quality than most other diaries or memoirs of Heian Japan, although it does read more like a novel written in later years made to sound like a diary (which it apparently is). 

I must confess, while at the outset I felt bad for the lack of control she had over her life, and gave allowances due to her age, I couldn't really sympathize with her. She doesn't seem to care for her kids, whom she has to give away and doesn't seem to give much thought to (even stating so herself at one point). In fact, after she is kicked out of the emperor's entourage, she doesn't seem to want to reconnect with any of her children. I may be missing some of the restrictions/customs of the time, but it still seems a tad harsh not even to mention your own kids after a while. 

After the 9-year-jump she seems to be more grounded, although still very materialistic (especially for a nun). 

Still, some very interesting information, and I really did find it interesting following her travels in her later years. 

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Review: Diaries of Court Ladies of Old Japan

Diaries of Court Ladies of Old Japan by Murasaki Shikibu
My rating:

An interesting collection. I can't really give it a rating. My favorite (and the one most resembling a diary, albeit a disjointed one) was Lady Sarashina's. But they were each different and singular. I don't know why the collection wouldn't include The Gossamer years, but there you go. 

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Review: The Izumi Shikibu Diary: A Romance of the Heian Court

The Izumi Shikibu Diary: A Romance of the Heian Court by Izumi Shikibu
My rating:

I confess this wasn't what I was looking for. After having read the journals of Lady Sarashina, Lady Murasaki, the Tosa Diary, etc., I thought this would be similar, but it rather just narrates a specific love story, more as a story than a journal. It is told in the third person and begins and (sort of) ends with just this story. It is an interesting one, considering it really happened, and it is also a sad one, considering how it ended (although the ending isn't really mentioned in the journal). 

Regardless, I'm glad I read it. 

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Review: As I Crossed a Bridge of Dreams: Recollections of a Woman in Eleventh-Century Japan

As I Crossed a Bridge of Dreams: Recollections of a Woman in Eleventh-Century Japan by Lady Sarashina
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My second reading of one of my favorite books. I'm still not sure why I enjoy it so much, except it is enthralling it is 'everydayness' and to think that all those actions really did occur. 

As per the introduction, at the very same time Lady Sarashina was accompanying the empress to the imperial palace, and probably while she was visiting the sacred mirror room, half a world away St. Edward the Confessor was probably getting ready for his coronation to be held later that day. 

Regardless, I recommend reading the diary first, then going back to the introduction later. Read it as time travel, accompanying her through random points her in life. 

Some notes I took while reading:

Mt. Fuji still had an active flame!!

I'm amazed she could leave the imperial palace after her first night in service there just because she didn't want to work there anymore. I guess they weren't very strict about matters like that. 

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